Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Western medicine perspective on traditional native american medicine
History of herbal medicine easy
Western medicine perspective on traditional native american medicine
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Herbal medicine is the traditional medical practice and it’s an important part of medicine to this day. To treat different ailments there are various indigenous systems such as Siddha, Ayurveda, Unani and Allopathy use differnt plant species1. Allopathic medicine is a system of medicine that focuses primarily on reacting disease rather than on promoting health. The use of herbal medicine is popular due to toxicity and side effects of allopathic medicines. Cancer is presently responsible for about 25% of all deaths in US and other developed countries. On a yearly basis, 0.5% of the population is diagnosed with cancer. It can be treated with chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapies etc., but all these have side effects and that is why botanical treatment turns useful. There were 14.1 million new cancer cases, 8.2 million cancer deaths and 32.6 million people living with cancer (within 5 years of diagnosis) reported by IARC in 2012 worldwide. Breast and ovarian cancer are the major cause of cancer death in American women, with an estimated 44,190 lives lost (290 men and 43,900 women) in the United States2. Studies revealed that in India, 555,000 national cancer deaths in 2010. 71% cancer deaths occurred in people aged 30-69 years in India. At 30-69 years, the three most common fatal cancers were oral, stomach, and lung in men, and cervical, stomach and breast in women. About 42% of male and 18.3% of female cancer deaths are due to tobacco-related products3. Many plants and plant derived products are used in cancer therapy as cytotoxic agents. Examples include Taxol that is used for breast cancer (which gets its active constituent from Pacific Yew tree) and the vinca alkaloids used for leukaemia (from the Madagascar ... ... middle of paper ... ...the body. Radiation can also cause damage to normal tissue. Thus chemotherapy acts in a harmful way. Here lies the fundamental difference between the chemotherapy and herbal medicine. In chemotherapy the chemicals act on the body, causing harm to the body, actively disrupting the vital processes interfering, interrupting, impairing in a dynamic manner whereas, in contrast the body acts on herb resulting in the restorative, curative and yet passive influences of herbal medicine. The rhizomes of Sansevieria roxburghiana is reported to possess anticancer activity18,20. So far there is no bioactivity guided fractionation studies on anticancer activity of rhizomes of Sansevieria roxburghiana. Therefore, a detailed investigation of the rhizome of Sansevieria roxburghiana is needed to establish scientific data on the anticancer potential using various cell lines.
Cancer of the lung was nearly nonexistent in the early 1900’s. By the middle of the 20th century an epidemic became apparent throughout the United States and the rest of the world. It is primarily correlated with the widespread abundance of cigarette smoking in the world. The tobacco industry has multiplied its production immediately prior to World War I. There was a typical 20 to 30 year lagging period between the initiation of cigarette smoking and the actual tumor formation in the lungs. Lung cancer is the cancer that originates in the tissues of the lungs. It occurs when cells in the lung start to grow rapidly in an uncontrolled manner. Lung cancer can start anywhere in the lungs and affect any part of the respiratory system. Most of all lung cancer cases start in the lining of the bronchi (health-cares.net, 2005). It is the leading cause of all cancer deaths in the world. During this time the tobacco companies would continue to say that cigarette smoking was not addictive and did not cause any type of cancer. Even with all evidence in the world today about tobacco causing cancer, Tobacco companies still remain the most profitable business in the world. Lung cancer is very common in both women and men. Women account for about 40 percent of the lung cancer cases in the world. Women who smoke are more than twice as likely to develop lung cancer as those of men who smoke (Tavor, 2005).
As caregivers for our animals, we can look to them as our guides as we become more and more familiar with using herbal medicine. Even though the past century has muted humans symbiotic relationship with nature, for animals, that relationship remains intact and innate. Animals and plants have coexisted for a millennia and whole plant medicine is the simplest way to achieve effective healing for the many aliments that effect our animals each day with little or no side effects.
Lindberg, D. (n.d.). Herbal Medicine: MedlinePlus. U.S National Library of Medicine. Retrieved May 7, 2014, from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/herbal
All most every indidula is employing herbal medicine with and without knowing it. Every family has natural remedy to fix a cold or cocation to put on a cut to help make it heal rapidly. Home remedy
...tantly making efforts to discover new drugs and design better protocols for this cancer. Synthetic anticancer drugs kill the cancer cells but they are also harmful to the normal cells. Since, increase in the use of these drugs in cancer therapy leads to many side effects and undesirable hazards, there is a worldwide trend to go back to natural resources, i.e., traditional plant preparations which are not only therapeutically effective but are actually acceptable and economically within the reach of even the neediest people. The present study was undertaken to understand the effectiveness of the plants against hepatocarcinogenesis. Any practical solution in combating this dreadful disease is bound to be of paramount importance. Generally speaking, integrated approach to combine western and herbal medicines to treat cancer has proved to be relatively satisfactory.
Cancer is a major public health problem in many parts of the world. Over ten million new cases of cancer, with over six million deaths were estimated in the year 2000 (Parkin, 2001). The estimated numbers of incidence and mortality in 2002 were markedly increased as 10.9 million new cases, 6.7 million deaths with cancer (Parkin et al., 2005). Even developed countries suffering from cancer, in USA it was expected 2677860 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in 2009. In that same year , more than 562,340 deaths will occur due to cancer, this number represent 25 % of all deaths and makes cancer as a second leading cause of death after heart diseases (Jemal et al.
The battle against cancer has been a long one and the results are tending to be the same, with the patient often losing their life. The success rate of cancer treatment has been a very low percentile. But not for long. Chaga mushroom has recently been recognized for its medical capabilities and have been put into extensive use in the treatment of cancer. They help in suppressing the growth of cancer cells and thus, tend to have anti-cancerous properties.
Kinghorn, Douglas A., Young-Won Chin, and Steven M. Swanson. "Discovery of Natural Product Anticancer Agents from Biodiverse Organisms." NIH Public Access 12.2 (2009): 189-96.
Flavonoids are widely distributed in plants, fulfilling many functions. Flavonoids are the most important in plant pigments for flower coloration, producing yellow, red, or blue pigmentation in plants designed to attract pollinators. In higher plants, flavonoids are involved in UV filtration, symbiotic nitrogen fixation and floral pigmentation. They may also act as chemical messengers, physiological regulators, and cell cycle inhibitors. Flavonoids, which are polyphenolic compounds, are a class of plant secondary metabolites possessing a broad spectrum of pharmacological activity including anti-cancer activities. Among the various natural products, flavonoids have attracted much attention due to their remarkable spectrum of pharmacological activities such as antioxidant, antimutagenic, antibacterial, antiangiogenic,anti-inflammatory, antiallergic, modulators of enzymatic activities and anti-cancer activity. Flavonoids have been found act as protein kinase inhibitors which can prevent alterations in phosphorylation that result in uncontrolled cell division, inhibition of apoptosis, and other abnormalities. Flavonoids can be known as angiogenesis agents. Angiogenesis is a physiological process resulting in formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing vessels. Antigiogenesis cause rapid growth of solid tumor and tumor metasta-sis are promoted by uncontrolled tumor angiogenesis. The flavonoids can control this growth of tumor. Besides that, flavonoids also can act as antioxidants which known as substances that delay, prevent or remove oxidative damage to a target molecule (Ravishankar et al., 2013).
Modern rules of herbalism draw upon many cultures that have used herbs for thousands of years. The first rule is that you only put in your mouth what you can positively identify. In many of the stories we have read, people were given concoctions that they could not identify. Drinking potions of unknown substances is dangerous and should never be done. Also, it is not true that if an animal eats a plant humans can too. Taste and smell of a plant are not reliable indicators of edibility. Also, one part of a plant may be useful and other parts deadly. These rules should always be followed today concerning the use of herbs, or the effects may be fatal.
Chiefly, allopathic medicine refers to the practice of conventional medicine that uses health care practices in order to restore health by preventing and treating illnesses. However, the name of allopathic medicine derives from a different origin than conventional medicine. Allopathic medicine and allopathy are both terms first developed by Samuel Hahnemann for use as synonyms for conventional medicine. This was a result of Hahnemann becoming infuriated by mainstream medicine at that time; for example, blood leeching and bloodletting, which often caused infections that led...
When you are sick you take medicine, but there are many remedies for the same problems. The use of herbal remedies traces back to the Chinese in the use of Traditional Chinese Medicine, as well by a compiled book in China written back more than 2,000 years ago (Wachtel-Galor & Benzie, 2011). Modern medicine has roots that are more recent in the development and production of synthesize drugs (Wachtel-Galor & Benzie, 2011). The old generations took herbal remedies to improve their health, but now as time and people, progressed modern medicine comes on top. Herbal and modern medicines have good and bad points, but one has qualities that are more effective.
People often choose Herbal Medicine over the prescribed and conventional medicine when they have a lifelong health complication. More so, Herbal Medicine is not just to cure such health problems, it also improves the overall well-being, many health enthusiast use herbal medicine to preclude illness or to assure a healthier lifestyle.
Health is considered a complete wellness of a body including physical, mental and social well-being and Holistic Health is considered a wellness of a whole body including mind, body and spirit. According to American Holistic Medicine Association “Holistic medicine is the art and science of healing that addresses the whole person – body, mind and spirit” (Wollumbin, page 3). Holistic Health is an alternate way to treat, prevent, and wellness of an illness and achieves the best possible level of health. It focuses on the whole body rather than just symptoms or diseases. It is an approach to heal the physical, psychological, environmental, spiritual, nutritional health of one’s being. For each individual, the definition of holistic health is different and in simple words it is an alternate way of treatment where physical, mental, emotional and spiritual works equally together to attain a health. In western medicine, standard treatment is given with drugs or surgery according to symptoms or diseases or injuries where a doctor or a physician determines the ways of treatment and the patient has to follow the recommendations. Whereas, holistic health is a complete opposite way to treat the illness where patients cooperate in their illnesses, take the responsibility of their treatments, make their own decision for own level of well-being and thoroughly participate in their health care plan.
Herbal medicines are sold in different ways from tablets, teas, extracts, capsules, powders, and fresh or dried plants. Many consumers believe that these products are safe and free of harm due to the labeling of the product with words such as “all natural.” The downside of taking these “natural” medicines are some ingredients can cause harm to a consumer’s health. According to the U.S .National Library of Medicine, some herbs, such as comfrey and ephedra, can cause serious harm. It is also reported that herbal